Rotary machines, such as gas turbines, are often used to generate power for electric generators. Gas turbines, for example, have a working fluid path which typically includes, in serial-flow relationship, an air intake, a compressor, a combustor, a turbine, and a gas outlet. Compressor and turbine sections include at least one row of circumferentially-spaced rotating buckets or blades positioned within a housing. At least some known gas turbine engines are used in cogeneration facilities and power plants.
Generally, gas turbines use intake air during normal operation for combustion purposes. Intake air is drawn through a filter house and towards the compressor, wherein the compressor-discharge air is mixed with fuel and ignited in the combustor. Because intake air generally contains various solid and gaseous contaminants, at least some filter houses include filtration systems that facilitate removing contaminants entrained in the intake air. Such known filtration systems generally include an array of filter elements formed from porous filter media positioned upstream from the compressor.
At least some known filter media have a sorbent material impregnated therein to facilitate removing the gaseous contaminants from the intake air. However, because sorbent material has a finite capacity, once saturated with contaminants, the sorbent material needs to be replaced to enable gaseous contaminants to continue to be removed from the intake air. Replacement of the sorbent material generally includes replacing the saturated filter media. As such, either the gas turbine engine needs to be shut down to replace the filter media, or a spike in contaminants ingested by the gas turbine engine will occur if the saturated filter media are replaced during operation of the gas turbine engine.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a more efficient system and method for the above filtration process. The invention provides such a system and method. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.